Many vehicles, particularly pickup trucks, are provided with cargo areas for storage of work equipment and other articles which are located rearward of a passenger compartment. Most of these vehicles that include cargo areas are provided with a tailgate in the form of a panel which is pivotally mounted to the rearmost portion of the cargo area. When the tailgate is pivoted in a downward or open position, the panel is in a horizontal position. When the tailgate is in-use or closed, the panel is vertically positioned to form one side of the perimeter of a cargo area. When the tailgate panel is in the in-use or vertical position, the tailgate panel results in a significant amount of turbulence and drag on the vehicle. The turbulence and drag on the vehicle results in lower fuel efficiency of the vehicle.
In addition, many owners of pickup truck vehicles install cabs over the cargo area in order to at least partially protect the contents from the outside elements. In particular, many of these owners may wish to transport pets or other small animals in the cargo area and thereby allow the animals to receive adequate ventilation as well as visibility outside of the cargo area.
Further, many owners of pickup trucks use their trucks as a portable office. The owners may use the tailgate when in the horizontal position as a table or temporary storage area for items such as toolboxes and the like.
Although various configurations have been proposed for the tailgates to minimize the resistance or drag on the vehicle, none of the prior art disclose a tailgate configuration that provides ventilation and visibility for animals held in the cargo area and provides an essentially flat surface when the tailgate is in the horizontal position as well as minimizes the drag on the vehicle.
It is therefore desirable to provide a tailgate modification that addresses the three aforementioned concerns.